Author: staff

Hello, this is Mared Gwyn writing in the early morning from Luxembourg, where there’s plenty of action on EU foreign policy and enlargement lined up for the day. More on that later. As you were sleeping, Russia launched yet another round of ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv, striking the city’s historic Assumption Cathedral within the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of Ukraine’s most significant religious and cultural sites which holds some of the country’s most revered shrines and relics. It comes just as President Zelenskyy is expected to join leaders at the G7 summit for talks on Ukraine’s future. More on…

The initial agreement between the US and Iran reached on Sunday has already faced hurdles, amid Tehran’s claims that it aims to control maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz as the war’s victor, and Israel insisting that it would hold onto land seized in Lebanon as it battles Hezbollah. After Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed in televised remarks that the framework deal put an “immediate end” to the war pending a “final agreement” after another 60 days of talks, Fars news agency stated that a legal framework governing navigation in the waters of the Persian Gulf would…

Published on 15/06/2026 – 12:06 GMT+2 OpenAI is facing a fresh regulatory challenge after a group of state attorneys general demanded a wide range of documents about how ChatGPT protects the people who use it, a move that arrives at a delicate moment for the company as it lays the groundwork for a potential public listing. The investigation, which arrived just days after OpenAI filed confidential paperwork for an IPO, threatens to complicate a listing that some analysts expect will value the ChatGPT maker at roughly $1 trillion (€861bn). According to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the matter,…

It sounded like the perfect sequel to the summer fairy tale: on 13 July 2014, Germany were crowned world champions in Rio de Janeiro, Mario Götze scored in the 113th minute to make it 1–0 against Argentina, millions celebrated in the streets, on balconies and at fan zones. More than 30 million viewers in Germany watched the final on television. Soon the question arose: shouldn’t such an exceptional state of euphoria also have consequences for the birth statistics? Even before the final, Saxon family policy expert Alexander Krauß (CDU) had predicted a baby boom in the Bild newspaper, as WirtschaftsWoche…

We’re not ashamed to admit that we’ve been distracted by a cat at a tourist attraction and ended up with more photos of our new furry friend than the site itself (…and not just once or twice). Certain cities are even known for their feline populations: Istanbul, Kotor, and Rome. And if it’s the latter you’re visiting, you might just want to sign up for this new running tour that takes you to some of the city’s best sites that just happened to be frequented by kitties. Launched by ArcheoRunning, which has been offering guided running tours around the Eternal…

Published on 15/06/2026 – 12:10 GMT+2 One of Europe’s most valuable private art collections is about to go under the hammer – and it’s expected to break records. Sotheby’s has opened the doors on the pre-sale exhibition for the Lewis Collection – 48 works expected to fetch a combined total of more than £200 million (€237 million), the highest pre-sale estimate ever placed on a single-owner collection in Europe. The works belong to the family of Joe Lewis, the 89-year-old former owner of Tottenham Hotspur football club, who is now estimated to be worth £5.8 billion (€6.7 billion). “As you…

The head of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv, called the attack “another Russian crime against humanity, against history, against Christianity.” “What more must the Kremlin Antichrist do for the world to realize that decisive action must be taken so that Russian terror against Ukraine and against the very principles of peace comes to an end?” he wrote on X. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia used 70 missiles and 611 drones to strike targets across Ukraine. Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko reported 5 people had been killed in the capital city, with an additional 35 injured. Separate attacks were also…

Thessaloniki is a city built for explorers. Its waterfront promenade, old town streets, and nearby beaches make a car the easiest way to see it all. Driving here has its own rhythm though. A bit of local knowledge goes a long way. Driving Tips for Thessaloniki Traffic in the center can get heavy, especially around Egnatia Street during morning hours. Parking near Aristotelous Square is limited, so many drivers prefer paid garages close to the port. Locals often park outside the historic center and walk in, since several streets there are pedestrian only. Watch for one way streets in Ano…

After cannabis, cocaine is the most widely used illegal drug in Europe. The latest report by the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) gives a picture of where use might be more widespread, based on residual quantities found in wastewater. Spanish and Belgian cities collected the largest samples. Lleida, in western Catalonia, topped the continent’s chart with 1,405 mg of cocaine found per 1,000 residents on average. Antwerp, in Belgium, is second (1,382), followed by Spain’s Granada (1,238), Amsterdam (1,172), Belgium’s Liège (1,039) and Brussels (1,020). Spain’s Santiago de Compostela is also in the top 10 (1,008), followed by Austria’s ski…

Southern Europe is set to be the standout region this summer in the Northern Hemisphere, with Greece, Spain and Italy recording the strongest growth in international travel demand as travellers increasingly opt for “closer, more familiar” destinations. According to new analysis from The Data Appeal Company/Almaviva Group, Southern Europe will capture 11.71% of global international travel intent between June and August 2026, an increase of 2.47 percentage points compared with the same period last year. The findings are based on the company’s Share of Searches Index, which tracks global flight search behaviour to measure travel demand. The Mediterranean region’s strong…